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[TWO BECOMES THREE] You read the name right. San Francisco songwriters Jim Brunberg and Jeff Pehrson formed a band in 1991, waggishly dubbing it Box Set. When Brunberg's eventual move to Portland—where he founded Mississippi Studios—meant that the core pair could only infrequently play together, they called that configuration Box Set Duo. Having now added a third member, Ben Landsverk—a longtime associate of Holcombe Waller, who played alongside Brunberg in the great, short-lived A Year Afar—they've adopted the convoluted handle Box Set Duo Trio. On new release One Night Live, they demonstrate that whatever the name, they remain a winning combination. The reedy purity of Brunberg's voice recalls James Taylor, while Pehrson, who sang backup with Grateful Dead survivors Furthur, has a somewhat more rough-hewn instrument, but their voices have always blended exquisitely. Landsverk's fine singing makes the mix all the sweeter, while his stunning prowess on viola and mandolin sparks great playing from the others, elevating otherwise ordinary acoustic arrangements and Pehrson's and Brunberg's workmanlike songs. "We've never had a guy between us," Pehrson jokes at one point, to which Brunberg replies, "You're forgetting that night in Eugene."
SEE IT: Box Set Duo Trio plays Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi Ave., with Ed Haynes, on Sunday, Dec. 20. 8 pm. $15 advance, $18 day of show. 21+.
Willamette Week
